His Girl and the Gang
by Droobles92
Summary: Picks up shortly after the tragic death of Johnny and Dallas. What is life like in the Curtis household? Join the brothers again as they go through trials of love, trust, and new beginnings.


Sodapop came home from work to find that the house was empty. Darry would be home in about an hour, but Ponyboy was nowhere to be seen. He should have been home already. Ever since the death of Johnny Cade and Dallas, he had been acting different. He spent more time studying and reading, which was fine. But, he also spent more time sneaking out, sometimes getting into trouble. Ponyboy was always trying his hardest to stay out of trouble. His recent behavior baffled his brothers and they didn't know how to go about fixing it. Just as Soda opened the refrigerator door to take out a cool pepsi for himself, he heard the front door open and close. He poked his head around the corner and saw Pony heading for their bedroom.

Soda put down the pepsi he was about to open and drink. He walked towards his bedroom where Pony had disappeared. He pushed the door open carefully and peeked inside.  
"Hey Pony." Soda smiled at his younger brother.  
He was sitting on the edge of their double bed, reading a school book. He looked up at the sound of Soda's voice.  
"What's going on?" Soda asked.  
"Just reading a book…" he replied absentmindedly, his full attention still focused on what he was reading.  
"Yeah, I see that." Soda sat down next to Pony on the bed.

"Seems like you've been reading a lot recently" He said, immediately wishing he hadn't. Reading wasn't the problem here, Pony getting himself into trouble was. He was avoiding the problem with idle rambling about Pony's avid reading.

"I like to read. You know that." Pony shrugged.

"Yeah, I know that. It's just you seem to be doing it a lot more than you used to. It was hard enough to get you to put a book down before..." He was going to say 'before Johnny and Dally died' but he changed his mind. "Now it's almost impossible to catch you without some kind of book in your hand."  
Pony shrugged again. "I have to read a lot for school. It's a hard year. They're giving us a lot of work."  
Soda nodded understandingly.

Pony suddenly looked up, as if he sensed something abnormal.  
"Is there something wrong with me reading?" Pony asked.  
Soda shook his head and half laughed. "No, of course not. Me and Darry are real proud of you, we're real happy you take school seriously."  
"But..." Pony said, raising his eyebrows.  
Soda sighed. Pony was very perceptive. "Well, we'd just like you to take some time out every now and then. You don't have to push yourself as hard as you do."

"Yeah, I know." Pony sighed. "It just takes my mind off things."  
Soda smiled at his kid brother.  
Then there was a loud bang followed by two arguing voices.  
"I bet that's Two-Bit and Steve." Soda grinned, not wanting to go into any other discussion.  
"Yeah, having the most intellectual conversation of their lives." Pony rolled his eyes.  
Soda left the bedroom to greet their guests.

"All I'm saying is-" Steve was cut short when he saw Soda. "Hey, buddy."  
"What brings two hoodlums like you to this part of the town?" Soda joked.  
"A bottle of beer and a slice of chocolate cake!" Two-bit said, heading straight for the fridge.  
"Don't forget a TV to watch Mickey Mouse!" Steve called after him.  
Soda laughed. "How've you been?" He asked Steve.  
Steve hadn't been around for a few days, which was unusual. It was usually impossibly to find Soda and Steve apart from each other. But recently they hadn't been hanging around together as much as they used to.  
A lot of things were changing. Soda had a hard time figuring it out whether it was for the good or bad.  
"Oh, you know. Same old" Steve shrugged.  
Soda nodded.  
"How's Darry and the kid?" Steve asked.  
That wasn't like Steve either. He hardly ever asked about Darry and practically never asked about Ponyboy. The gang had a real hard time trying to figure out if Steve even liked Pony.  
"They're good." Soda said. "Darry's working. Pony's in the room doing school work."  
"So nothing new then?" Steve grinned.  
Soda shook his head, smiling.

Darry bounded in whistling a cheerful tune when he saw Two-bit fishing in the fridge for beer and chocolate cake.  
"Just great, I come home to a bunch of knuckle-heads eating the food I worked hard for!" Darry teased.  
Steve emerged from having his head in the fridge with a happy smile on his face.  
"Don't know anyone who makes a chocolate cake as good as you Darry!" He said, popping open the beer he had taken out.  
"Stevie!" Darry exclaimed giving Steve a hug, "Its been to long! Were have you been?"  
"Been working extra hard at the gas station. I really need the money." Steve said with a sigh.  
"Huh, since when have you cared about having money?" Soda asked while grabbing the controller from Two- bit, who was watching Mickey mouse.  
"Yea, next thing ya know you'll be thinking about being a soc!" Two-bit joked, grabbing the remote back.  
"Haha, really funny. I just really need the money now." Steve said shrugging, making it seem like no big deal. No one pressed on with the topic. Ponyboy walked out of his bedroom and into the kitchen. He grabbed the carton of milk out of the fridge and, gulped some down. Pony then headed for the bathroom were he combed back his brown hair and added some grease to it.  
"We're you going?" Soda asked, pinning Two-bit to the ground.  
Two- bit whined, "Aww come on Soda, this is my one time to relax and you have to spoil it."  
"Yeah, got some hot date or something?" Steve asked looking up from the stack of cards he was dealing out to Darry.  
"No, just going for a walk." Pony replied heading out the door.  
"Sure you are." Darry teased with a wink.

Since Dally and Johnny boy's death, Darry and Pony were getting along better.

"Don't give me that Two-bit you lazy couch potato! You spend your whole day relaxing!" Soda said releasing his grip on Two-bit and changing the channel.

Two-bit collapsed on the couch defeated.  
"Yeah but this is the only time I get to relax at your house."

Pony stepped out into the crisp, cool air of fall. He popped his collar and took out a cigarette. Man, was he nervous. He was going to meet Lucy, the new girl. Lucy had moved here with her father three doors down from Ponyboy about a week ago. She wasn't like the other greasy girls. She wore no make-up and was naturally pretty with dirty blonde hair and big brown eyes. She and Pony had the same Language arts class together and were paired together for a project. Pony said he would meet Lucy after school to work on it. Pony didn't like school much now, but he knew if he dropped out Darry would have a fit. Pony just wished he could stay at home and read and write. One day he wished to become an author. The teacher last semester had loved Pony's report, well more like book, so much he sent it off to a publishing company. Sadly though, it wasn't published. Currently it sat in his desk drawer with a big red fat A on the cover. Every once in a while, Pony would take it out and read it over. Darry had said when their parents had died, "The worst thing you can do for your deceased loved ones is to forget. Being so wrapped up in your sorrow that you bury them deep inside you, and never bring them up in fear of being hurt again. What are they to you if they are forgotten from this world like they never existed?"  
Pony didn't want to forget, not ever. He wanted their tales to live on, wanted it to help other kids who were in the same situation Johnny and Dally were.  
Anyway, Pony had never seen anyone as beautiful as Lucy, well maybe Cherry Valence, but Lucy was not only pretty in her looks, but also in her personality. For the week they had known each other, Pony felt himself fall in love with her every time he laid eyes on her. She was bubbly and was never afraid to speak her mind. The day when his teacher announced the pairs for the project, he had to resist jumping out of his chair and whooping in glee.

Pony arrived at the house to here a man (whom Pony expected to be her father) yelling at the top of his lungs.

"Damn it Lucy you're not going anywhere!"

"Daddy, please, just, go sit down and finish drinking your beer."

"Don't you order your father around! I'll be treated with respect girl!"

The sound of a glass hitting against the wall followed by a shriek of fear or pain came from Lucy's mouth.

Pony stood outside the house, not sure what to do - reminded of when he would hear Johnny's parents shouting at or beating him.  
The front door opened and Lucy ran from the house, almost bumping into Pony.  
"Hey." Pony gave a shy smile.  
"Hey, let's go." Lucy said, beginning walking away from the house.  
Pony followed her and decided not to ask about what had happened in the house.

Pony didn't know what to say, they just continued to walk down the sidewalk in an uncomfortable silence. Suddenly, Lucy's father came bounding out of the house and down the sidewalk screaming at the top of him lungs.  
He was a big man who hadn't shaven in a long time. He had a beer bottle in his hands.  
"Ohh no." Lucy whimpered as her father approached.  
Pony had seen that look before. It was the expression of a hurt puppy whose eyes are big and full of emotion. Big and glistening, like Johnny's.  
She grabbed his hand, sending an exiting splurge of energy through him. Her hands were soft, and seemed to fit perfectly in his. "Run" she whispered starting to jog, then eventually breaking into an all-out sprint. She was fast; Pony was out of breath when they stopped in the park. "What happened?" Pony asked, concern clinging to each word he said.  
Lucy just continued to clench onto his hand for dear life.

Lucy looked down at her sneakers and whispered,  
"He's a drunk, it used to be worse before when he did drugs. But he went to rehab, got off the drugs but, continued drinking." she cried, the sobs racking her body. Pony hugged her. He hated seeing her cry, never before had a girl affected him like this, not ever. Though he hardly knew her, Pony knew he would give his life for hers. When she cried, it felt like someone scooped out his insides, leaving him hollow and depressed. She hugged him back, clinging onto him tight.  
"Ohh Pony, sometimes I just don't know what to do." she sobbed, burying her face in his shoulder. She smelled sweetly of roses, making Pony's heart flutter. He gently caressed her and cooed her, telling her it was all right and that he wouldn't let anything bad happen to her. She eventually calmed down from her racking sobs to a diminutive whimper.

Pony lifted up her face so he was looking into her big brown eyes that he loved so much. "Hey, how about we watch the sun set?" Pony asked, trying hard not to drown in those eyes. She smiled, making his heart stop. "I'd love that Ponyboy Curtis." She said taking both of his hands in hers. On the way to the bench Lucy said,  
"Sorry about the whole drama scene, I don't usually break down like that, it's just sometimes so hard. You just want to bury your feelings but eventually it explodes." She said.

Dally's face flashed across Pony's mind. Should he mention him? This could be a chance to help someone with the same problem. Dallas buried his feeling so deep, he exploded, with the result of him dying.

Pony gulped, his throat suddenly gone dry.

Pony cleared his throat. "I had a friend who buried his feeling so deep, he exploded with the force of an atomic bomb."  
Lucy stopped and turned around, sympathy clear in her eyes.  
She gulped.  
"Had a friend?"

"He let out all his feelings at once and got himself killed because of it. It's good to vent, let your feelings come. Don't store them up." he paused and chuckled, "You can cry on my shoulder any day you like."  
Pony loved feeling the warmth of her body close to him.  
"Yea, you got a point, next time I'll vent it all out at my dad." she joked, taking his hand and guiding him to the bench were they sat down.  
"I'm really sorry about your friend Pony." she whispered, squeezing his hand.  
"Yeah, So am I." Pony sighed, returning her squeeze.

Something inside of Pony evaporated, floated of his chest. He had never spoken about Dallas's death with anyone before. It felt good to have told someone.

"My mom died a similar way your friend did." Lucy said looking into the sky. The sun was just beginning to set.

"She was so stressed and depressed, she killed herself." she continued. Her voice was strong, and surprisingly did not crack.

Pony squeezed her hand. He knew sorry wouldn't make anything better, so he just hugged her body close to him.

Lucy smiled and cleared her throat.

"It's such a beautiful sun set, let's drop all the sad conversation." she smiled at him.

"Yea, before we have another Hallmark moment." Pony joked.

Lucy smiled and said laying one hand on his face,  
"I think we already are."

Her breath was warm and sweet calling Pony to kiss her.

Pony had never kissed a girl before, but he didn't let that stop him.

He kissed her.  
After he broke the connection, feeling as if he would faint if he continued, he wrapped his arms around her. And with her head resting on his chest, together they watched the sun set.

"That was beautiful." Lucy said after the sun had set.  
"Yeah it was." Pony sighed; he had never felt so whole, so complete. He had watched a sunset with a girl (he now loved) and wasn't afraid to express his feelings. If he had talked about watching a sunset with Steve, he probably would have laughed.  
"How about for the poetry project we do a poem on the sunset we just watched?" Lucy asked, her head still on Pony's chest. "Yeah that would be great! The words are forming in my head already!" Pony said in a jolly mood.  
"How about we go to my house and write it?" Pony asked.  
"That would be great! I don't think the Library is still open and I don't think we would be in the clear to go back to my house." She said getting up and stretching.  
"Cool, lets go then." he said taking her hand.

Upon entering the Curtis house, Two-bit and Soda were arm wrestling and Steve and Darry were playing a card game. Two- bit looked up, giving Soda the chance to pin his arm down.  
"Hey lookey here! Pony's got himself a gal!" Two-bit whooped slapping the table. Soda looked up and smiled at Pony and Lucy, then at Two-bit. Soda reached across the table and slapped him, gently though, across the head.  
"Man shut-up, you're embarrassing him!" Soda whispered, but not low enough. Darry and Steve looked up from there deck of cards questionably.

"Hey guys, this is my friend, no my really good friend-" Pony stuttered on his words.  
He had not asked Lucy to be his girlfriend but did his kiss and hugs make her his girlfreind? Or were they just friends? Pony decided the hell with it.  
"Guys this is my girlfriend Lucy, guys Lucy, Lucy guys." Pony said, daring to look at Lucy. She was smiling and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. Pony smiled.  
"At least we know what he has been up to these days." Soda whispered loud enough so everyone could hear.  
Pony turned red and everyone else in the room laughed.

"Yeah, were going to work on our project now." Pony said dragging Lucy by her hand to his room door.  
"Yeah some project." Steve laughed.  
"Make sure you don't lock the door Pony." Darry teased.  
"Haha really funny Darry." Pony said closing the door behind him.

Lucy bounced on Pony's bed.  
"Comfy!" she laughed.  
Pony smiled and went to the drawer to take paper and pencils.  
Pony handed her a piece of paper.  
"Shall we begin?" he asked.  
Outside the door they heard Two-bit whisper,  
"Begin what?" and start to laugh.  
Lucy chuckled. "Do they always listen in on your conversations?" she asked, face glowing.  
"Well, I've never brought a girl over before." He said shyly, and immediately wished he hadn't.

"Aww man! Now she's going to think I'm some inexperienced loser!" he thought worried.

Lucy shrugged and said,

"I've never brought a guy to my house either." She giggled. "Well, you probably know why." She got up and sat next to Pony, who was on the floor. "So how do you want to start the poem?" she asked.

"Before we start, I need to take care of something." Pony said standing up and walking to the door. Once in front, he banged on it as hard as he could.

"Damn!" Two-bit yelled from the other side. "Alright I'll leave you alone, but mark my words Pony, I'll get you for that!" he said, walking off.

"O yeah and this needs to be taken care of too." Pony said walking over to Lucy and kissing her.

When done Lucy whispered with a smile on her face,

"In the embrace of a loved one the suns light began to fade. That is how we should start it."

-- **Ok, so this was written a LONG time ago. Probably when I was in the eighth or seventh grade. Now, the first two parts were not written by me. This story started out as a campfire story. For those of you who don't know what that is, it is when someone starts a story and people take turns adding parts. About 95% of this is by me. I don't remember the other people who added the fist two paragraphs, but I give them credit for it. I thought to myself that I would fix it up a bit, change stuff that was grammatically incorrect or sentences that sounded weird, but that was before I realized how much of a mess this was. Too much for me to clean. The development of the story overall is good in my eyes though, so please look past the ickyness and sometimes weirdness and cheesiness. I was 13 for goodness sake. Once I start picking up from where I left off, you will see a huge difference. Tell me if you lived through this or whether the way it was worded made you sick to your stomach. Thanks. =).**

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the authors. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.


End file.
